First Full Week Out - Oct 14, 2013

We received this email on Monday.  Sounds like she's doing great.  Looking forward to tomorrow!

 

This has been a crazy week. I feel like so much has happened, but there's no way I'll be able to get it all into one email. So I'll just tell you the highlights. :)

 

Monday night we had scheduled time to go street contacting. But Sister McKenna and I both agreed that that wasn't where we needed to be. We needed to be in someones home. But we didn't know who. We prayed really hard to know where to be. After our prayer, we sat and listened to let the spirit guide us. I just looked around outside and noticed the sunset. It made the entire sky a burnt orange color. For some reason, the burnt orange made me think of the Revolutionary war. I don't know why...maybe it's because the whole "bombs bursting in air" thing. But then that lead me to think of one of our investigators, Rande. We had just visited her the night before and had invited her to come to Family Home Evening. It was about 7:30 at the time, so we weren't sure if she would have gone or to the activity or not. We waited for her at the church, but didn't see her. We waited a few minutes for her to show up, but I still felt like we needed to go out to her house. We drove out there, and sure enough, she was home! We just checked in on her to see how she was doing. Honestly, I have no idea why I felt prompted to go to her house, but that was one of the first times that I felt really prompted to go visit someone! So that was a pretty cool experience for me.

 

Tuesday a miracle happened. We were on King St contacting with not much luck. We were headed back to the car when Sister McKenna suddenly decided that we should cross the street. We stopped a lady who was walking toward us and started to talk to her about the gospel. Her name is Leah. Like Princess Leah from Star Wars. :) Turns out she had been looking for a religion after six years of being a non practicing Catholic. She researched mormon.org on her own just two days before!!!! Oh man I do not believe in coincidences! We taught her the restoration and made a return appointment for the next night. I'm so glad God let me be a part of that miracle. I love being in the right place at the right time!

 

Wednesday night we had our lesson with Leah. She had a TON of questions, and we did our best to answer them. I just love being a missionary! The spirit brought so many scriptures to my memory that I hadn't read in months! It's amazing. Leah is totally going to get baptized I just know it! But as it turns out, we have to pass her to another set of missionaries because she isn't in our ward. Bummer!

 

Thursday was the hardest day for me on the mission. We spent a lot of time street contacting because we didn't have any appointments or lessons all day. It's so hard to be rejected so many times! But we kept stopping people and trying to talk to them. The hard part for me is when they say they're not interested in what we have to say. They don't even KNOW what we have to say! If they just knew the importance of our message, they would soak it up like a sponge! Oh well. We all have our agency....The funniest part of the day though... Oh boy. Some people are SO weird. I've been trying to be more bold with street contacting, and asking them a question right off the bat so I can spend more time teaching rather than introducing who I am. We walked toward a man dressed in all black and had a crazy look in his eyes. I stopped and asked, "Hey what do you know about the Book of Mormon?" He replied, "not much." Looking for a way to teach him about it so that it would make sense I asked, "Well have you read the Bible?" He said, "Nope!" I didn't really know where to go so I asked, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?!" He said, "Nope. I don't know if you want to know what I believe in. It might scare you girls." So not really thinking I said, "Try me!!" He looked back and forth a few times between me and my companion and blurted, "I believe in the DEVIL!!!" And then he turned around and walked away laughing like a mad man. I couldn't believe that conversation was real!!!!! HAHAHAH! It felt like that whole moment was a scene from some old cheesy movie! I laughed for about 10 minutes!!! Oh my goodness. Some people are so weird out here.

 

Friday it rained. I thought I knew what a rainy day felt like until I came out to Virginia. It poured. I felt like I was taking a shower in my clothes. We were contacting on King St again and it was as though the clouds just dumped all the water they were carrying. And again, I felt like I was in a movie! Haha. It was a lot of fun.

 

Saturday we had a lesson with George. He really loves the Bible and is afraid that we're trying to replace it with the Book of Mormon. We started talking to him about how Christ visited the Nephites in the Americas. My companion started telling him about how in the Bible it talks about how Christ has other sheep and there shall be one fold and one Sheppard. Immediately, the scripture mastery song that I learned from my freshman year of seminary popped into my head!!! It was perfect timing too because George asked to see where the scripture was! And I was able to tell him! I've been preparing to teach George my whole life and I didn't even realize it!!!!! :) It was awesome. We just continued to show him how the Bible and the Book of Mormon testify of each other. I think it helped him. :) Pray for George! He's so close to gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon!!!!

 

Sunday we stopped in at our ward's fireside because we were expecting an investigator to show up. (She didn't show by the way :( ) But remember that song that we sang in ward choir called "My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee"? Well, the composer was the speaker! Pretty cool. They sang that song at the very end. I think Heavenly Father is trying to tell me something through that song because ever since I've been set apart as a missionary, I've heard it a bazillion times! It's a great song. Also. Sunday we had another appointment that fell through. The night before we contacted into a man named Jimmy and set up a return appointment to meet at the church building for a real lesson. He didn't show up. When we tried to call him, an Asian lady picked up. He gave us the wrong number! That sneaky man got our hopes up!

 

Yesterday we went to the Iwo Jima Memorial for Pday. It's HUGE! I'm assuming the government is still shut down because we couldn't get into the Arlington Cemetery....

 

Those are the highlights! I still love being a missionary though. This week was a little harder in the fact that my testimony is being tested. I am asking questions that I've never had to ask before. I can't remember who said it at conference a few weeks ago, but I love the quote, "doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." It's so true. I am relying on the Lord all the time these days, and I know that he's carrying me BIG TIME.

 

My apartment is old. Haha. It's kinda gross, but it's a place to live so I can't complain. The walls everywhere are a sickly green color and the lighting gives me a headache. There's a gym though! So we go down and use it for our exercise period every morning and that's nice. We have personal study for an hour, comp study for two, lunch, and then we're out and about! We try to go contacting during the day and save our appointments for the evenings because I don't feel comfortable being out and about on the streets in the dark. That's creepy. Haha. I use my umbrella as a weapon...Sister McKenna must think I'm super paranoid or something. But hey! Better safe than sorry! I don't have my pepper spray with me!! Sister McKenna is 21 and she's from Idaho/Utah. Her family has moved around back and forth. She has three sisters and two step brothers. I think. Haha. She's right in the middle. She is AWESOME. She is the best trainer I could have asked for. She's been out for three months now, but to me it seems like she's been out for at least nine. I have about an hour an a half to email on Pdays. The library was closed yesterday because of Columbus day so I'm emailing today. :)

I think I answered all your questions! Haha.

 

So like I said earlier about street contacting, it's hard when you are rejected over and over again. And the longer we contact, the less bold I get. But I was reading in 2 Ne 1 (GREAT chapter by the way.) I really dissected it and it's helped me. In verse 26 Lehi is talking to Laman and Lemuel about how Nephi used sharpness and was bold with them. I really like the word SHARP because of the imagery. I think of a knife. A sharp knife will cut your skin a lot cleaner and easier. And a clean cut heals a lot faster. A dull knife isn't nearly as effective and leaves a jagged cut that will take a longer to heal. I need to be straight and to the point and be BOLD!  Also in verse 15 it talks about being encircled in the arms of His love. And I thought of Gpa K and the hugging bear song! I'm sure Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are the best at giving bear hugs! :)

 

I love you all!!! You're in my prayers. God is good!

 

Love,

Sister Anderson

Oct 2, 2013 - Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures of Sister Anderson the day she arrived in Washington DC.  Enjoy!


This was the group of 26 Elders and Six Sisters that arrived in Washington DC on October 2, 2013

 


Sister Anderson with President and Sister Riggs.


We also received a couple of letters from Sister Anderson........stay tuned!

I'm FINALLY HERE!!!

Here is Sister Anderson's latest communication.  We received this last Monday.  I will try to do better getting something up a little faster.  Sister Anderson is really excited about missionary work!  Enjoy!

Here's a picture of Sister Anderson with Elder Risk before she left the MTC.  They were pretty excited to see each other!  Always a treat to see a friendly face.  GREAT kids!

Elder Risk and Sister Anderson

 

Well! I made it to Virginia! I love it here so much! The roads are really confusing. I feel like whoever made the road system used cooked spaghetti noodles as a model. The streets twist and turn in every direction!!! I'm going to have to invest in a GPS... Luckily my companion has one!

 

My last few days in the MTC were great. I was able to meet up with Elder Clark and his companion in the cafeteria for dinner! It was great to see him one last time. The last night we were there my district decided to do blessings. The elders were able to give all the sisters a blessing. I am so grateful for the priesthood. And I am so grateful to be a woman of this church! The elder that gave me my blessing had no idea what was on my mind. But the Lord did. :)

 

I fell asleep on the planes and didn't get to talk to anyone about the gospel. Man! I was so excited to talk to someone on the plane because when they're strapped in, they can't run away from me! Haha! Oh well. I have the next 18 months to talk to people about this wonderful gospel!!

 

We got off the plane and loaded into vans. The Riggs wanted to take us to the Lincoln memorial before we went to the mission home, but the government is SHUT DOWN. So we just wound up driving in circles before we decided to go back to the home. The mission home is beautiful. There was a basement with a bunch of bunk beds and floor space, so that's where they put all 26 of the elders. There were 6 sisters, so we stayed in the Riggs' daughter's rooms upstairs. I was so exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open! President Riggs interviewed all of us to get to know us all better. In the interview he said, "So now that you've graduated from the MTC, you should be an expert at role playing!" I immediately started sweating thinking that I'd have to give him the first lesson or something! But instead, he asked me to play the part of my mother while he played the part of President Riggs. Haha. So he asked me, as mom, to tell him what I thought of my daughter. Man, immediately I was overcome with the spirit. I told him about how I talked to my daughter earlier that day while she was at the airport and how I told her that she was born to be a missionary. I told him about how she has a special relationship with her Father in Heaven. Then he cut the role play. President then told me (as Sister Anderson) about how even before I got there he had heard so many great things about me! I was kinda surprised! But then I remembered Michael Litchfield used to be the Assistant to the President in my mission. :) That night I slept so well. They let us go to sleep earlier than 10:30, and I was SO grateful! It was a really long day.

 

The next day I met my first companion! Her name is Sister McKenna and I love her so much! She's my trainer for the next 6 weeks. I have already learned so much from her. She's a really good example to me. She's a little more quiet than I am, but she is really good at talking to people and telling them about Christ's wonderful gospel. After the transfer meeting as we were waiting by our car to leave, I asked her about our investigators! I just couldn't wait to meet them! She told me about a man named George from KENYA! She called and set up to meet with him later that evening. I was SO EXCITED! Meeting George was all I could think about as we drove back to our apartment. Before our appointment, we went street contacting. I just have to say that contacting is so much FUN!!!!!!! I love stopping people and talking to them! There are so many people of so many different backgrounds and I just love all of them! I didn't know I could love so many people, especially people I don't know. But Christ is sharing some of that love that he has for them with me. It's such a blessing. I told Sister McKenna the other day as we were driving to an appointment that I feel responsible for every person I lay eyes on. She told me that I shouldn't let that burden stress me out. I told her that I don't. The Savior is carrying that burden with me. I can literally feel it. It's amazing how much love he is capable of. Even as a missionary I can't comprehend it. Okay so George. George is AMAZING. My first impression of him was an impression of the spirit. My mind is still blown. I looked him in the eye, introduced myself and shook his hand. The moment I touched his hand, I literally saw him dressed in all white. It's as if he had magically changed his clothes and put on a white baptism jumpsuit. I am going to help him get baptized. I know that's my responsibility. I just know it. He's really hard to teach though. He has a strong background of the Bible and loves God so much! We went to teach him about faith, but he wound up talking about everything we were going to say! I was so amazed. It's almost as if he's already a member. I want so badly for George to be baptized and hold the priesthood. We're still trying to help him understand that the Book of Mormon isn't a replacement to the Bible, but an addition. It's another testament of Jesus Christ! It completes the Bible in areas that aren't clear! The Book of Mormon contains the fullness of Christ's restored gospel! He's so close to knowing of the full truth! I can't wait for him to realize it! :) :) :)

 

Last night I met a lady named Rande. She is SO PREPARED to hear the gospel! The Lord really has been preparing these people for me!

 

Man! My companion said we only have 5 more minutes! I have so much more to say! Okay I'll try.

 

Street contacting is so fun. I stopped a lady and immediately started talking to her kids. Turns out she's a single mom and hasn't been to church in a while. Her name is Lisa. Her kids are THE CUTEST! We didn't think to take their info, but we gave her a Book of Mormon. I think she listened to us because I actually took the time to talk to her kids. :) I love being sneaky like that. I love looking at someone and starting a conversation based on what they need to hear. :) It's so fun! The Lord is really blessing me to help me see pay attention to those kinds of things. The best part about street contacting is seeing people literally run away from us. I mean, come on! Did I grow fangs since I've moved to Virginia?! HAHA! Oh man....

 

I LOVE reading the Book of Mormon EVERY DAY! Every day blessings are promised us as we study the Book of Mormon and apply is to our lives. I have already learned so much. I loved conference. Saturday it was all about missionary work! The prophet charged EVERYONE of us to be a missionary NOW. We are all called of God! We're all missionaries! HOW GREAT IS OUR CALLING! Reading the BOM is hard sometimes. It's hard to find time in my busy day. I've made it to Nephi 18! Slowly but surely. Haha. It truly testifies of Jesus Christ.

 

I really liked how one of the repeated sayings of all the prophets were "be not afraid. Only believe" Man I have so much to say about conference. It was just amazing. The Lord revealed so much to me that will help me as a missionary. He also revealed things that will help these people in Virginia. I've seen so many miracles already. And I expect to see many more. I couldn't have made it even this far without the help of the Lord. I didn't think it was possible to pray as much as I have. Haha. I rely on him so much. I love him with all my heart. I love his children. I love my companion. I love my mission. I love being a missionary. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to be in this place at this time as a servant of our God. Stay strong! You're all in my many prayers. Sorry if I didn't answer all of your questions.

 

This is a great work! It's something worth being excited about! f

 

LOVE YOU ALL! Have a great week! :)

 

Love

Sister Anderson

Leaving for Washington DC South Mission

Being new to the blogging world, I find it difficult to keep up with an every day/every week post.  This will be something I continually work on so everyone can be better updated! 

Before Julie left for DC, we received this letter from her:

I get to call you guys from the airport tomorrow night at 2:30 am! It'll be 1:30 for you, but I can totally call you! Just thought I'd let you know! :) I'll call mom's number unless you dearelder me before dinner time and tell me otherwise. 

Today in class we practiced going up to people in the airport and getting referrals before we get to our actual missions! I AM SO EXCITED! I can't wait to start talking to people about who I am and who I represent! The church has always been such a big part of my life and I've never had trouble talking about it to anyone. But now that I'm a MISSIONARY, church IS my life! I am so excited to talk to those people in the airport that the Lord has been preparing for me! Even if I don't get any contacts, I'll be putting my testimony to action! WOOOHOOOO!!!! I am so excited that I just can't sit still. I can't stop smiling! I can't wait to get to that airport! I know there's a least one person there that the Lord wants me to talk to! I can just feel it! 

 

AND! I get to meet President Riggs tomorrow! I can't wait! 

 

I used to be scared to actually fly out to DC. But right now, I am burning to get out there! I haven't met anyone yet, but I already love them! Man, I love being a missionary. 

 

Thanks for all your love and support! I'll be sure to write you more when I have time! 

 

The church is true. His work is working! 

 

Love,

Sister Anderson

 

At 4:00am the phone rang!   Her flight left at 6am and she had just a few minutes to chat.  So I ran up and woke Dayle JR, Belana, and Brendan.  We all piled on my bed around my cell phone.   Ha ha.  I think we were half asleep, but it was great to hear her voice.  I asked her if she had an opportunity to meet anyone yet and she said that their group were the only ones there.  She said she still had time to make a contact or talk with someone.  Her travel plans included a layover in Minneapolis, MN, so she still had time.  That girl is really on FIRE.  I don't remember much about our early morning conversation, but I could feel her love for the Lord and could tell she was going to serve with all her might.  She has always been such a spiritual person.  I look up to her for that.

 

I also received another phone call from Julie as I was driving to work.  We talked for maybe five minutes during her layover in MN.  Talked about the MTC a little bit.  She said it was hard work and how she was glad to put in to action what she had been in classes for 16 hours a day.  She said the food there was ok, but she was glad to not have to eat it anymore.  After we hung up, I have to say, it was difficult to go into work without a little tear in my eye.  Needless to say, I wore my I Love DC shirt!  Ha ha!

 

As for now, we await P-Day.  Preparation Day (P-Day) is the day where missionaries have the opportunity to do laundry, go shopping for needed items, such as food and toiletries, as well as check out the area in which they live.  OH-AND WRITE TO THEIR FAMILIES!!  So until then, please keep Sister Anderson in your prayers!

 

 

Contact Information

Julie wrote this on the Face Book Page she created.  I thought I would include this information for those who would LOVE to write to her.

 

Here's my address for the MTC:

Sister Julie Charlotte Anderson
OCT02 DC-SOUTH
2007 N 900 E Unit 92...
Provo UT 84602

I'll be there for two weeks.. But you can also get a hold of me through dearelder.com! It's free to send letters to the MTC. Pretty cool.  I will leave the MTC on October 2nd.

If you want to write me while I'm in DC:

Sister Julie Charlotte Anderson
Washington DC South Mission
5242 Lyngate Ct
Burke, VA 22015
United States

That's the address to the mission office. Once I get there, I'll have my actual address and I'll have my mom post it as soon as I know what it is.

If you want to email me (which is probably going to be the easiest way to reach me) my address is julie.anderson@myldsmail.net

September 28, 2013

It was fun to see Julie in the Relief Society Broadcast.  Thanks Serena for posting this GREAT picture of her.  I'm sure the other Sisters' families were just as thrilled as we all were!  Cool!
However, she was in pink!  Ha ha!

Sister Anderson singing in the MTC Choir!  They sounded GREAT!


If you want to watch the entire Broadcast, click on the following link
http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/general-relief-society-meeting/2013/09?lang=eng&vid=2690888805001

September 26, 2013 - Sister Anderson's First Email

Hey everyone!
 

Sorry I haven't been able to email you sooner. I didn't have Pday before today. Just a few things to tell you about that you should know. :) I leave the MTC Oct 2nd at 2am. I am going to DIE. haha. But I can do hard things! :) Also, the sister missionary MTC choir is singing at the General Relief Society meeting this Saturday. AND I"M IN THE CHOIR. Look for me, I'll be wearing a brown shirt!
 

Thanks for all your letters. They make me feel really good. I miss you guys a lot. But don't worry, not too much. In D&C 100:1, the Lord says that my family's in His hands. So you are being taken care of. And that gives me a lot of comfort! Brendan, I'm so proud of you!!! Way to trample that kid! Did you make him cry?! Also, there are no guys as sexy as Dayle and Tyler's still the cutest. My companion is awesome! I love being a missionmormonary!!!!!! Dayle, I know SO MANY PEOPLE here at the MTC! There are so many missionaries here from Olympia and Lacey area, but there are also a lot of people here that I know from BYU. Pretty cool. I get excited every time I see someone. Last night, Tanner got here. I walked by him and he yelled out my name and  grabbed my arms and almost gave me a hug! HAHAHA he gets so excited! But I was like "I can't hug you ahhhh!" hahahaha. It was hilarious! But we were able to shake hands like crazy people! Dayle, I hope you know that I can't wait for you to be a missionary. There are times I'll be walking around and I think I see you. You have a few years to go, but I know that you are going to bless so many lives. I just know it. In my mind it's totally easy to picture you in a suit with a name tag on your chest. Belana, you have a hand written letter...;) But only because I had extra time to write you! haha. Mom, I got all your letters! I hope to answer all your questions... :)

I bet Mike and Katie have already told you this story, but I got lost when I got off the plane! I was all by myself for an HOUR until I felt the prompting to pray. As soon as I said amen, I heard my name. I turned around to see Grandpa K. It was the greatest sight in my LIFE! I was overcome with so much love and emotion. I didn't think I'd get to see him for 18 months! The Lord really does care about me. Prayer works. He hears prayers and answers them.

I love. LOVE the MTC. From the very moment that I got here, I couldn't stop smiling!!! I've never felt so good about anything in my life. I was always meant to be a missionary for the Lord! We were herded into a big room where we had new missionary orientation. We sang two opening songs. Called to Serve and Army of Helaman. I couldn't even sing, I was so overcome with the spirit. In the Army of Helaman, they changed the line that says, "we are as the Lord's missionaries" to "we are NOW the Lord's missionaries". The importance of my calling just hit me! And I love it! In D&C 31:3 it says to lift up your heart and rejoice! the hour of your mission has come!!!! I am so grateful that the Lord has called me to help Him in His work! His love for His children is SO great. After the first day, I really felt the weight of the importance of this work. From day one, I made a promise to myself and the Lord to obey with exactness because I want to show Him that I am serious about being His servant. I am a representative of Jesus Christ in everything that I do and say. Remembering all these rules and striving to be obedient is so hard sometimes, but it's possible and worth it.

My companion's name is Sister Gordon. She is literally everything that I'm not, but we complete each other. She's a bit quiet and keeps to herself, but she really helps me. I learn so much from her. She helps me make it to meetings on time and to not get lost! haha! And we decided that I cry enough for the both of us. I'm just really open with my emotions. Soon after we first met she told me, "It's like I'm a vulcan. And you're my James Kirk." Yep! She's a trekkie! :) Jacob Klumker gave me the best advice when he said to love my companion no matter what. It's so true! There are times when my patience is tested, just because we both have different ideas on how to approach lessons. But I work so hard to love her and make her feel appreciated. :) She's amazing!

Every day my faith is tested, and it's growing. Every time I pray or focus really hard to spend all my time doing things that the Lord wants me to do, I am blessed. It's hard to stay focused though. A missionary's day is 16 hours long.  I really have to completely rely on the Lord. I saw Brother Jackson! He was my mission prep teacher from BYU! Talk about tender mercies of the Lord. Honestly though, I really shouldn't have been so surprised to see him. I mean, people at BYU usually help out or work at the MTC.... But every time I see someone I know, it's a blessing and lifts my spirits so much! I've seen Sister Tilleman, Elder Clark, Elder Oaks, Elder Farrer, Elder Risk, and a WHOLE bunch of people from BYU! I've been trying to take lots of pictures :)

My branch president's name is President Wenn. He is LITERALLY half my size. TINY. But his spirit is so tall! We met him on my second day here. He called me to be the Sister Training Leader. Which is the equivalent of a zone leader, but for sisters. They added the calling when the age change happened because there are so many more sisters to take care of. President told me that he believes that I volunteered for this calling in the pre-mortal existence. Honestly, it would have been super easy to be stressed about this calling, but when he said that, it felt so right. I know what he said was true. I was always meant to be here at this time :) It's a great calling!!!

There are angels here! Remember what Dad said about how angels surround the MTC? It's true! I haven't seen them, but I don't have to. :) Also! In one of our meetings we were taught that since we were called to be missionaries, we were assigned an angel to be with us and to protect us. :) I can't wait to thank my angel someday and give them a big hug!! I feel so blessed.

Some days are harder than others. Missionary work isn't easy. I always knew it wouldn't be. But I rely completely on the Lord and he helps me to take each day as they come. It gets harder and harder to wake up right when that annoying alarm clock blares in the morning. There are times when I start thinking about my task at hand and how I have 18 months left. Sometimes I think, "what did I get myself into?!?!!" Those are the times when I have to pray. I set a goal to focus on the NOW. I am going to enjoy every moment of my mission and  make the most of it. When I am focused on the work and my studies, I don't think those negative thoughts. I work so hard to smile every day to lift the spirits of others.

Fun fact. Sept 21 was the 190th anniversary of when Angel Moroni came to Joseph Smith and told him where to find the plates! SO COOL! Elder Mathews from my district was reading Joseph Smith History and showed that to us!

I love my district. We are so close! There are five sisters and four elders. We outnumber them! It's amazing how many sisters are here. I learn so much from my sisters and elders. We were all meant to be together for a reason. We all like each other a little too much, so yesterday I said that we had to set goals to stay focused during study times. And since then, we've done really well in working hard. Haha! Oh my. A few days ago I woke up with a HUGE zit on my head. Sister McBride(one of the sisters) asked, "Sister Anderson, is that a bug bite?" I was like, "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...." it was SO awkward! And then somehow it came up during one of our study times... it took us a while to stop laughing. And now every time we pass the elders in the walk ways, they ask me how my bug bite is doing. Sounds like something Dayle would say.

The days went by REALLY slow until Sunday came. Sunday was so relaxing!!! I still felt the spirit, but I didn't have to sit through a million intense classes. It was nice. 

To help us prepare for teaching actual investigators, we are given practice investigators. The MTC hires people to act the part of an investigator, but to make it as real as possible. There is this program called TRC. I'm not really sure what it stands for, but we are assigned a "progressing investigator" who we have to teach. We are only given a short bio about them and we are to prepare a lesson and treat it like it's real. Our investigator's name is Belinda. She lives in Singapore and works with a less active member friend who mentioned the church to her. Belinda went to church one Sunday and the Branch President gave the missionaries her address. So Sister Gordon and I prayed about it, and we decided to plan a lesson on teaching her about how God is literally our Father in Heaven and he loves his children. We knocked on her door, and immediately the spirit was just gone. She looked really angry and defensive, but for some reason let us in. We told her we had a message for her and that we were representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. We asked a few questions to get to know her and her background with church in general, and she has none. She doesn't know who God is, and has never gone to church. We were so confused! We didn't know where to go! In our classes, we mostly talk about how to teach people who have backgrounds of other faiths! So we didn't know what to do. After a bit of awkward silence, she asked us why we were there the first place and what our message was. Since she hadn't even heard of God before, we couldn't exactly teach her that God loves her......so we tried explaining who God is. It was terrible. She started yelling at us about monsters and ghosts and how we were busy bodies who should mind our own business. So I thanked her for her time, and we left. I felt so bad. Immediately after she closed the door behind our backs, the spirit came over me in a wave of emotion. I had no idea what to do other than pray. I prayed to know what we could have done differently. I prayed to know why the spirit wasn't in Belinda's house...I had been doing everything that I could to be obedient so that I COULD have the spirit to teach with me. That whole experience HURT. I wanted so bad to show Belinda that she's loved. Belinda was supposed to be our "progressing investigator" but we didn't even make a return appointment with her! Sister Gordon and I were worried. So the next day that we were scheduled for TRC practice, we planned on just sitting in our classroom to study more for other investigators. But the guy who's in charge of TRC came to us and told us that Belinda was there and that we should go teach her again. It was the scariest moment of my LIFE. I was terrified! I didn't want to get yelled at again for trying to help her come unto Christ!!!! But Sister Gordon and I said a prayer, and went forward in faith. It took a lot of faith on my part. But I'm glad we did it. The second time meeting with Belinda was sooo much better! We knocked on her door and told her that we were just in the neighborhood and wanted to check in on her to see how she was doing. She said she was fine and mentioned that we had a lot of free time on our hands. I said that we had been busy and had a break in our schedule. She said that she wasn't too busy at the moment either so I quickly asked, "can we come in?!?" She ACTUALLY let us in!!!!!! As I was going to sit down in my chair, I noticed that she had knitting supplies on her chair and that she wa sin the middle of making a scarf or something. I felt like I needed to ask her about it, and I so I did. Right away, she opened up about how she had been knitting for about a week because her doctor told her it would help with her physical therapy or something. Then she talked about her job, her father, her hobbies. She totally opened up with us! I know that it was the spirit that guided me to ask about her knitting. I would not have thought of that on my own. But we learned a lot about who she is and what her needs are. I learned in one of my classes that if you really listen to your investigators, they will tell you what they need to come unto Christ. I can testify that that's true. We learned that she's traveled the world and loves to learn about different cultures. So the next time we met with her we brought her a Book of Mormon and told her that it contains the culture of the church that we represent. We told her that it teaches about Jesus Christ and how to be like him. We invited her to read it, and she said she would! :) It's just a start, but I now know of the importance of really getting to know your investigators and to love them. I love Belinda so much! I know all of this was just practice, but it felt so real! I really hope I have another opportunity to teach her again. 

All the new missionaries came in the other day! They look the same way that I felt when I first got here. Haha. I'm glad I've been here a week and have been able to adjust to things. But since I'm the Sister Training Leader, I got to spend some time with the new sisters and help them move into their rooms. I love being a leader. It reminds me of when I was the Laurel President. I love helping the sisters and praying for them and loving them. :) 

Okay. Since missionary work is all about commitments, and inviting people to act upon their faith,  I have a few commitments for all of you. I decided that I'm going to read the entire Book of Mormon again before my birthday on Dec 7th. And even though we're going to be on separate sides of the country, we can read it together. I'm inviting you to read it with me! I know that as we read together, we will come closer to Christ. I want to hear about your experience reading too! Yesterday I read 1 Ne chapters 1-3. I learned that obedience really is important. The Lord gave commandments to Lehi and his family, and told them that as they were obedient, they would be blessed and would be delivered into the land of promise. Obedience is vital is every aspect of life. It's not just for missionaries. I wish I'd taken that more literally before I was a missionary. I could have had so many more blessings! The Lord wants to bless us :) I also learned of the importance of the influence that siblings have on each other. Nephi prayed to God to know of the truth of his father's words, and then went to share his experience with his brothers. Sam believed him! Laman on the other hand, didn't. Lemuel decided to follow the example of Laman. Siblings really do have the power to lift each other up or to tear them down. I hope and pray that the things that I've done lifts up my siblings. Belana, Dayle and Brendan, I love you so much. I know that as we follow Him, He will bless us. As a missionary, I really feel the love that Heavenly Father has for all of us as his children. Pray to be able to know with all your heart that this church is true. Read the Book of Mormon with me. :) It doesn't matter if you read it as a family or not, but I want to be able to learn from your own personal experiences as you read. The Book of Mormon has teachings that apply to everyone individually! 

 

One more thing. Please pray for me to understand the doctrines and the lessons. I'm struggling with connecting the dots and putting everything together and then simplifying it enough to help investigators to understand. Please pray to help me understand so I can better serve God and His children. Please pray for the people in my mission.

I love all of you so much. You are in my prayers every single day. The Lord really does know us all personally and will take care of us. This is a gospel of love. I'm so grateful to our God that He loves us. I would be nothing without Him. He makes up for my weaknesses and makes me strong like in Ether 12:27. Honestly, I'm grateful for my weaknesses. Without them, I wouldn't have ever had to rely on Him as much as I have. I know if I do my best, Heavenly Father will take care of the rest. I love you. And I hope you have a great week!

With all my love,

Sister Anderson